''Clelia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s, one of three

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

containg

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

with the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

mussurana or musurana (Portuguese: ''muçurana''). ''Clelia'' is a genus of large snakes in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Dipsadidae Dipsadinae is a large subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Dipsadidae). Species of the subfamily Dipsadinae are found in most of the Americas, including the West Indies, and are most diverse in South America. There a ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

. The genus is native to

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and species of ''Clelia'' are found from southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. They specialize in

ophiophagy Ophiophagy (Greek: , ) is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which hunt and eat snakes. There are ophiophagous mammals (such as the skunks and the mongooses), birds (such as snake eagles, the secretarybird, and some h ...

, i.e., they attack and eat other

s. Seven species are recognized as being valid. They have other popular names in various countries, such as ' in Central America and ''cribo'' on some Caribbean islands (though they are not related to ''

Drymarchon ''Drymarchon'' is a genus of large non-venomous colubrid snakes, commonly known as indigo snakes or cribos, found in the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Description Indigo snakes are large, robust snakes. ...

)''.

Species

The genus ''Clelia'' contains the following species which are currently recognized as being valid. *''

Clelia clelia Clelia may refer to: * Clelia (given name) (includes a list of people with the name) *Cloelia Cloelia () was a legendary woman from the early history of ancient Rome. Biography She was one of the women taken hostage by Lars Porsena as a part of ...

'' – black mussurana, windward cribo *''

Clelia equatoriana ''Clelia equatoriana'', commonly known as the equatorial mussarana, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southeastern Central America and northwestern South America. Geographic range ''C. equatoriana'' is fo ...

'' – equatorial mussarana *'' Clelia errabunda'' – Underwood's mussurana, Saint Lucia cribo (extinct) *'' Clelia hussami'' *'' Clelia langeri'' *'' Clelia plumbea'' *''

Clelia scytalina ''Clelia scytalina'', commonly known as the Mexican snake eater or ''zopilota de altura'' (highland mussarana), is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the New World. Geographic range ''C. scytalina'' is found ...

'' – Mexican snake eater ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Clelia''.

Description

Mussuranas have an average total length (including tail) of about , but may grow up to about . When young, the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

color is light pink, which becomes lead-blue when adult. The ventral color is whitish yellow. They have 10 to 15 teeth at the front of the upper jaw, which are followed, after a space, by two enlarged grooved teeth at the back of the mouth (

opisthoglyphous A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than it ...

teeth) which they use to grasp the head of the attacked snake and push it into the gullet. Then they coil around the prey, killing it by constriction (this is the reason these species are called pseudoboas). Ingestion of the whole body follows. The long body of the ingested snake is compressed as a wave in order to fit into the mussuranas' gastrointestinal system.

Reproduction

Mussaranas are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Venom

Although mussuranas are

rear-fanged A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than it ...

and produce a mild venom, these snakes pose no danger to humans. Even when handled they usually do not bite. Very few

envenomations Envenomation is the process by which venom is injected by the bite or sting of a venomous animal. Many kinds of animals, including mammals (e.g., the northern short-tailed shrew, ''Blarina brevicauda''), reptiles (e.g., many snakes), spiders, in ...

have been reported and they were not fatal

Mussuranas are immune to the Snake venom, venom of the snakes they feed upon, particularly the smaller Central and South American

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or pit adders, are a subfamily (biology), subfamily of Viperidae, vipers found in Asia and the ...

s of the genus ''

Bothrops ''Bothrops'' is a genus of highly venomous pit vipers Endemism, endemic to the Neotropics.McDiarmid RW, Jonathan A. Campbell, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1''. Herpetologist ...

''. They are not immune to the venom of the

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 27 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera ('' Calliophis'', '' Hemibungar ...

, though. In the absence of other snakes, mussuranas can feed also on small

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

. It has been reported that at least some captive specimens will accept only live snakes as prey.

Habitat and behavior

The preferred

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of mussuranas is dense ground-level vegetation. They are diurnal.

Conservation

In some regions, farmers keep mussuranas as

pets A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, int ...

in order to keep their living environment clear of pit vipers, which claim annually a large number of deaths of domestic animals, like cattle. In the 1930s a Brazilian plan to breed and release large numbers of mussuranas for the control of pit vipers was tried but did not work. The

Butantan Institute The Instituto Butantan () is a Brazilian biologic research center located in Butantã, in the western part of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Instituto Butantan is a public institution affiliated with the São Paulo State Secretariat of Health ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, which specializes in the production of

antivenin Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if t ...

s, erected a statue of ''Clelia clelia'' as its symbol and a tribute to its usefulness in combating venomous snake bites. Mussuranas' immunity to bothropic venom was studied by the Brazilian scientist

Vital Brazil Vital Brazil Mineiro da Campanha, known as Vital Brazil (April 28, 1865 – May 8, 1950), was a Brazilian physician, biomedical scientist and immunologist, known for the discovery of the polyvalent anti-ophidic serum used to treat bites of ven ...

in the 1920s. Mussuranas are increasingly rare due to the disappearance of their prey and have disappeared in many habitats.

References

External links

Mussurana Care Sheet
mussurana 1, common lancehead 0.

discussion forum (about venom of musurana) {{Authority control Clelia Mussuranas Snakes of Central America Snakes of South America Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger